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“Joshua Collins, your girlfriend’s brother.”
“He hates my guts.”
Elba looks amused. “He followed you the morning of the robbery, and had eyes on you the whole time.”
“The little shit,” I breathe, torn between annoyance and confusion and... relief. Such relief that my knees buckle and I sit down heavily on the bank of the cell.
Fuck.
“You owe him,” Elba says, still amused, the asshole, and nods at one of the cops. “Unlock the door. And I’m still reporting all of you for refusing Mr. Jones his rights while here.”
The door opens and I climb back to my feet, my only goal to keep upright until I can get out. A new mantra is forming in my mind—I’m not going to prison, not going to prison—and it’s so loud I can’t hear anything else.
Then Elba puts a hand on my back and pushes me out of the office, saying something about “family” and “girlfriend” and I blink.
Because there they are, my sisters and brother, and Luna.
Luna.
My legs almost go from under me again, and suddenly my arms are full of warm, soft girl, and her arms are around me. “Ross,” she’s whispering, “Ross...”
“What are you doing here?” I ask her, a fucking huge lump in my throat. “I thought you wouldn’t wanna see me again.”
“What are you talking about?” She smacks my back and lifts her gaze to glare at me, then spoils it by hiccupping and rubbing her cheek on my chest. “I thought you didn’t want to see me. You called Merc but not me, and you never took my calls...”
“They took away my phone,” I whisper against her hair. “I thought you believed I was guilty.”
“You serious? Of course not. I know you.”
I close my eyes, basking in those words and all they imply. She knew I’d never do something like that. She never doubted me. “Thank you, Lu.”
“God, I knew it, I knew it the moment you were arrested that Ed was up to something, that he’d try to hurt you.”
“It’s over now.”
“Well, they’re still looking for Ed and his band,” Merc says and comes to pound my back, then Octavia and Gigi come to take their turns touching my arm. Not hugging me. I guess I haven’t earned that privilege yet—besides, I’m still holding Luna, and she’s still clinging to me like she can’t let go.
I feel the same damn way.
“I want my pendant back,” I tell John Elba and he rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, you’ll get it. Relax.”
I’m not gonna explain to him why it’s important to me. “And when you catch that asshole Jenner who tries to look like me and who pretends we’re friends only to stab me in the back, I hope you give him hell.”
“Will do.”
The others pull back to talk with Elba, and I bury my face in Luna’s neck. “I can’t believe I’m out, can’t believe you’re here. That Josh followed me.”
She laughs. “I think he’s warming up to you.”
“No shit.”
“You owe him.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? He threw rocks at me, for fuck’s sake.”
“Because he’s not a bad kid, Ross. And he’s my brother. Who gave you an alibi and got you out of prison.”
